With hours to go before his posting window, Hyeseong Kim and the Dodgers signed him to a three-year contract worth $12.5MM. The deal includes a two-year club option (which will need to be exercised together) covering the 2028-29 seasons. If the Dodgers exercise the option, they will pay an additional $9.5MM over those two years. Los Angeles designated catcher Diego Cartaya with an assignment to open a 40-man roster spot. Kim is represented by CAA Sports.
Kim’s former team, the Kiwoom Heroes, officially released him on December 5, giving him until 4:00 PM CT this afternoon to sign with the MLB club. As the days went by and the rumor mill died down, it looked like Kim might be back for one more season with Heroes. Instead, the Dodgers, who had not been closely linked to Kim this winter, swooped in and made the winning bid in time. In addition to Kim’s salary, the Dodgers will have to pay a $2.5MM release fee to the Heroes (20% of the $12.5MM guaranteed in his deal). Their net worth is $15MM.
Kim, who is about to turn 26, is a four-time winner of the KBO Golden Glove Award, which is given annually to the best player in each position. He won the award at shortstop in 2021 before moving to second base and winning each year from 2022-24. In addition to playing a solid second base and at least a capable shortstop, Kim is also an asset on the ground routes. He led the KBO in stolen bases in 2021 and has swiped at least 20 bags in all seven full seasons of his career. His glove and legs should give him the upper hand as a relief player in MLB, if nothing else.
The big question is how Kim’s bat will hold up against MLB pitching. While he struggled at the plate early in his career, the lefty blossomed into an above-average hitter during his final three years in the KBO. From 2022-24, he produced a .326 batting average and .384 OBP, while his wRC+ never went below 118 in any season. However, Kim never hit for much power, even at the slightly lower levels of the KBO. His 2024 season was the best of his professional career — he hit double-digit home runs for the first time — but his .132 singles power was still below league average. So, it’s fair to worry that Kim might not have the power needed to be an everyday player in the MLB. Just look at his former KBO partner Ha-Seong Kim. Ha-Seong Kim was a real threat in the KBO, hitting 30 homers in 138 games in his final season in Korea. Since arriving in the MLB, he has been known as a soft-hitting specialist. His career .137 ISO in MLB is 15% worse than the league average over the past four years.
While MLBTR ranked Hyseong Kim at no. 26 on our list of 50 Free Agents, we predicted he would sign a three-year, $24MM contract. His original contract guarantees him a little more than half of that projected salary. That said, it should be noted that Kim reportedly turned down more money from at least one other party. Kim’s representative, CAA Baseball, told Korean media (reported by Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News) that the Angels have offered him a five-year, $28MM deal, while the Mariners, Cubs, and Padres have also made offers. undisclosed terms. That suggests Kim intended to join the Dodgers, even if he could have gotten more money, more years, and more playing time elsewhere.
Until then, Kim may not have the guaranteed starting role for the LA Dodgers that he still has Gavin Lux playing second base, Mookie Betts at shortstop, too Max Muncy holding down the hot corner. In addition, they have a talented short defense Miguel Rojas and various things Chris Taylor on the bench. A middle player Tommy Edman can also play around the field.
According to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, Kim will play a “super-utility role” in 2025. The use of the prefix “super” seems to indicate that he will be playing several positions. Although he has significant experience at both shortstop and second base, he has only played a handful of games at third base in his professional career. He also played 44 games in left field in the 2020 season, and it will be interesting to see if the Dodgers consider using him in the outfield at all. As a “high performance” player, Kim will likely have a bigger role than the regular bench player, but with so much competition on the Dodgers’ talent-laden roster, he will have to earn his playing time.
The fact that the Dodgers signed Kim despite already having so many players in the lineup is a testament to how much this team values depth and flexibility. It’s also a sign of how much they appreciate what Kim can bring to the table. Fortunately, manager Dave Roberts has made it clear that his team supports Kim. After the Dodgers played an exhibition game against the Korean national team last March, Roberts told reporters (including Yoo), “Our scouts are like a second baseman: the way his body moves.” That second guy, yes, was Kim.
Various reports from South Korea started with the news that Kim was signing with Los Angeles on a three-year contract with a two-year club option. Jon Heyman of the New York Post was the first to report the $12.5MM guarantee and $22MM cap.
Source link
